1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to deep fat cooking devices generally, and more particularly, to apparatus and methods for identifying subject medium within such cooking devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Large capacity, pressurized, deep fat fryer cookers are known in the art and have been devised for cooking food products in a heated or pressurized environment, or both. Such devices may include a cooking vessel, referred to as a fry pot, which may be filled with a subject medium, such as oil, shortening, water, or the like, and heating elements surrounding or immersed in the vessel, or both, for heating the subject medium. Food products may be placed in the cooking vessel, either directly or in a container, such as a wire basket, and are cooked for a desired length of time.
These cooking devices may have a temperature probe, a heating element, and a temperature selector for enabling a user to select a desired cooking temperature. Control means control the heating element in different modes of operation corresponding to the different stages of preparing food products. Moreover, cooking devices usually provide for proper maintenance of the subject medium. Specifically, if shortening is used, it is desirable to filter the shortening periodically to reduce or eliminate adverse effects on cooking quality due to the absorption by the shortening of oils and odor associated with the cooked food products, and degradation of the shortening, e.g., its breakdown due to heat, extended use, and other factors. Thus, the subject medium may be drained periodically in order to be filtered.
After repeated use, the cooking devices themselves also may need to be cleaned and maintained in order to insure quality in cooking operations. Fryer operators often use water-based cleaning solutions in the fry pots within the cooking devices. While generally an effective cleaning method, the use of water to clean the fry pot may cause uncertainty of the proper temperature level needed to operate the cooking device if the operator is not sure if water or cooking oil is placed therein. It is desirable to limit the water temperature to less than the boiling point to prevent boilers. Thus, it is desirable for operators and process controllers to be able to distinguish between water and cooking mediums in a fry pot.